Soap star Steven Pinder has nothing but praise for the East Lancashire school that launched him on his acting career, writes JENNY SCOTT

SOMEWHERE in cyberspace lurks a picture of a slightly dishevelled-looking Steven Pinder as a Rishton schoolboy, circa 1971.

It was put there by mischievous former classmates of the Brookside star and has returned to haunt him at regular intervals throughout his 10 year career playing philandering businessman Max Farnham in the Channel 4 soap.

"Oh my giddy aunt," he exclaims, right on cue, as the subject of the website is brought up. "I was a pupil at Norden School in the early '70s and we had a reunion in the '90s, which I went to. I think that must have been when they put the website together."

Such embarrassments aside however, Steven, 43, has cause to be immensely grateful to Norden because the Rishton school started him on his acting career.

"I always had the ambition to be an actor," he explains.

"And Norden had this amazing drama group and their own drama studio -- something quite unusual for a comprehensive in the early '70s.

"I was so lucky to have gone there.

"After that I joined Blackburn Arts Club, then I went to drama school in London when I was 18.

"Things just snowballed from there."

After a string of roles Steven landed the part of the much-married Max -- the man he describes as the "Henry VIII of Brookside Close".

"He had three wives, but he got married to two of them twice," he says. "He was a glutton for punishment!

"He just rolled along with his businesses and affairs and got himself into some terrible fixes along the way.

"I guess he was a sucker for women, really! "

Steven received a good handful of nominations as British soap's sexiest actor -- something he claims diminished as the years went on.

"Over time, I've kept getting put into different categories," he laughed. "I started off as best young actor, then sexiest actor, then best character actor. It wouldn't have been long before I was best old actor!"

Steven's Brookside career ended in high drama with wife number two, Susannah, falling to her death on the Farnham stairs, leaving him to marry wife number three Jacqui, the mother of his child Harry.

"There were times when it did go to extremes," recalls Steven.

"But having said that, I remember long periods of time in Brookside when there was a lot of comedy.

"I got to experiment with lots of different things when I played that character."

Brookside behind him, Steven is still experimenting, although his latest outing involves a similar combination of high drama and comedy that helped his role as Max to become such a hit.

In Murder By Misadventure, at the Oldham Coliseum, he plays a TV thriller writer who has become dissatisfied with his writing partner, played by David Griffin, of Keeping Up Appearances fame, and so decides put to use all the tricks of the criminal trade he has learned from researching his scripts.

Steven says: "One of these writers has made loads of money, while the other hasn't.

"Their relationship has completely broken down and the stakes become very high.

"There are lots of twists and turns, but it's also very, very funny."

The play tours until the end of November, after which Steven is taking some time off to spend Christmas with his family in Chester.

He hopes to return to theatre in the New Year.

"Actings a very funny trade," he reflects. "There's no yardstick for it and, of course, there are so many of us.

"Even if you are working the prospect of unemployment stalks you at every turn.

"There should be a big pestilence among actors so a lot of them are killed off. It would certainly make life easier for me!"

Catch Steven in Murder By Misadventure at the Oldham Coliseum between November 11 and 15. Call (0161) 6242829 for details.